This set of Vegetables Processing Multiple Choice Questions & Answers (MCQs) focuses on “Postharvest Physiology of Vegetables”.
1. What is postharvest physiology?
a) Plant response to technologies
b) Plant response to pesticides
c) Plant response to microbial attack
d) Plant response to sunlight
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Explanation: Postharvest physiology is about the plant response to technologies and other applications. In order to extend shelf life and quality and delay senescence (plant death), many techniques are applied on plants. As consumers continue to increase their daily intake of fruits and vegetables, pressure to deliver high quality product with a longer shelf life is critical.
2. What are the factors of harvesting?
a) Maturity of the crop
b) Temperature
c) Field heat
d) Pesticides
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Explanation: The major factor determining the time of harvest is the maturity of the crop. Other factors such as weather, availability of harvest equipment, pickers, packing and storage facilities, and transport are important considerations. Maturity indices help to know the maturity stage of the plant.
3. Why postharvest technology can increase food production?
a) Reduce respiration rates
b) Increase respiration rates
c) Maintains respiration rates
d) No effect on respiration rates
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Explanation: Post harvest technologies serve to reduce respiration rates, retard ripening, decreases ethylene production. It consequently retards senescence, prevent dehydration. It extends the shelf-life thus preserving produce quality.
4. What is the importance of timely harvesting?
a) Ensures good grain quality
b) High profits
c) Easy labor
d) Minimum production cost
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Explanation: To have high market value, it is necessary to maintain the timely harvesting which ensures good grain quality. Harvesting early can results in a higher percentage of immature products, which can lower the yield. Late harvesting results in excessive losses especially during transportation.
5. What are the advantages of proper postharvest management?
a) Food safety, food security
b) Food safety, high profits
c) Food security, high profits
d) Food safety, food security, high profits
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Explanation: Proper management of post-harvest systems can serve as a major help in resolving various social and economic issues. A significant decrease in post-harvest loss can improve food security all over the world. At the same time, food safety can be ensured by protecting commodities from microbes and contamination.
6. The post-harvest management of vegetables can increase food availability.
a) True
b) False
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Explanation: The food availability can be increased by reducing postharvest losses of fruits and vegetables. Qualitative losses are difficult to measure than quantitative losses of fresh fruits and vegetables. The qualitative losses include loss of nutritive and caloric value, and loss of edibility that results in loss of acceptability by consumers.
7. Which of the following are the biological factors which involved in deterioration?
a) Water loss
b) Temperature
c) Pressure
d) Temperature and pressure
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Explanation: There are many biological factors involved in deterioration. Respiration, ethylene production and compositional changes like water loss, physical damage are some of the factors. Physiological breakdown and pathological breakdown can also influence the deterioration in plants.
8. Which of the following is degraded during respiration process in vegetables after harvesting?
a) Sugar
b) Protein
c) Lipids
d) Potassium
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Explanation: Respiration involves degradation of food reserves, especially sugars, in order to produce chemical energy. Respiration results in loss of food reserves, loss of flavor, especially sweetness, loss of salable dry weight. The release of heat from the product increases the costs of refrigeration, and release of carbo-dioxide requires extensive ventilation.
9. Rate of deterioration of harvested commodities is proportional to their respiration rate.
a) True
b) False
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Explanation: In general, the rate of deterioration of harvested commodities is proportional to their respiration rate. Commodities with high respiration rates will have short potential storage lives. Commodities with low respiration rates will have long potential storage lives.
10. What are the ways to minimize the water loss after harvesting?
a) Low temperatures
b) Low vacuum
c) Low relative humidity
d) Low temperatures, low vacuum, low relative humidity
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Explanation: There are many ways to reduce water loss after harvest. Low temperatures and high relative humidity can be used for storing the products. Prevent surface injuries and other bruises especially during transportation. Application of waxes or other coatings on the product reduces water loss.
11. What is heat injury?
a) Caused by exposure to direct sun light
b) Caused by exposure to excessively high temperatures
c) Caused by exposure to variable temperatures
d) Caused by exposure to direct sun light or excessively high temperatures
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Explanation: Freezing injuries are caused by storing produce below their freezing point causes immediate collapse of the tissue and complete loss. Heat injury is caused by exposure to direct sun light or excessively high temperatures. The symptoms include bleaching, surface burning, uneven ripening and softening.
12. What is pathological breakdown?
a) Caused by microbes
b) Caused by rodents
c) Caused by birds
d) Caused by insects
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Explanation: One of the most obvious symptoms of deterioration is growth of pathogens. Healthy fruit are mostly resistant to pathogens, but senesced and damaged fruit become susceptible to infection. Infection by pathogens became a very serious problem in postharvest handling in recent years.
Sanfoundry Global Education & Learning Series – Vegetables Processing.
To practice all areas of Vegetables Processing, here is complete set of 1000+ Multiple Choice Questions and Answers.
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